Yesterday I was out shopping and could not think, could not walk steady, could not remember my pin number for my debit card, and was pissed off because the line was not moving, (but so was the lady behind me and I don’t think she was diabetic).
Well anyway I got to my car, started to sweat, shoved 3 glucose tabs in my mouth and tested at 40. I was soooo mad as I just started shopping and had a lot to do, and soooo sad that once again diabetes was in my way. Three candy bars later, I went to the mall, and worried and shopped until 3:00.
I know that feeling! But it got in the way of work this time…
I’m a restaurant manager and every 2 to 3 weeks I pull Drunk Duty on the weekend and have to manage until the bar closes. What fun that is.
Last night I went to check my BG and pulled out an empty canister of strips. It was a particularly rowdy night and I seemed to get real upset at little things and could not test, and so tired I went caffeine crazy with the coffee. When home at 3am found out my BG was 412 (note to self, don’t eat the tomato grits at work any more). 5 bottles of water later and not much sleep due to trips to the bathroom I finally have come back to my normal high! (I don’t experience lows at this point)
Diabetes always seems to sneak up on you at the most inconvenient times. I hate it when I am needing to do something or go somewhere and I have to wait until the blood sugar comes back up.
Seriously, I hate this crap too. This is the worst part of diabetes, and the part no one but a diabetic understands or even is aware of. It makes me really angry, and then I get frustrated because there is no one or thing you can legitimately direct that anger towards. And there aren’t many of us around, so most of us don’t have someone close to us in our lives we can bring this sort of thing to for even a shred of empathy. Sympathy is always appreciated, but it doesn’t help you work through these emotions nearly as well.
Thanks guys for your support. Just so scary sometimes when you are out and about on your own shopping. You guys get it. When I told my little sister about it, she said be careful, ahhhhh, CAREFUL, does not work.
Many times I have grabbed any piece of clothing, slinked (slunk? slank?) into a dressing room to sit, test, snack and wait. All that walking while shopping is great exercise, apparently.)
Ma’am i know how that feels. But i think mine its like worst or maybe the same. When my blood sugar is that low, i feel like my leg shakes and i cant walk straight , i start shaking and feel soo tired like im just going to faint. It happened to me once too at the mall. It was me and one of my really close guy friends (he still didnt know i had diabetes) so we were shopping right afterschool and then i started to shake i felt soo bad because people started to look at me like if i was on drugs or something, i hate when people do that. I remember i drank a milkshake and just waited for like 30 min. and my bloodsugars when up to 140 sumthing.
Oh Karen. Same happened to me today.
I had to leave my group and go sit in the car because I was too shaky and paranoid to stay at the crowded store.
Reading your post and the responses somehow makes me feel better. Its nice to have someone to relate to… because quite frankly, not a lot of ppl fully understand.
I guess all the advice I can offer is the same as I do with myself. Check before getting off your car, and see how you are. From there you’ll have a better aim at how low you’ll go. I’m sure you know your body and those days when you can roughly predict how you’ll measure.
Make a comfort zone ")
Anyway, best of luck and try not to stress so much. Easier said than done, but indeed do-able and worth it. And when u need to vent, DO IT! Crying, yelling, (non violent of course) is great because you end up thinking of the worst possible, and reallize the degree of how bad it really is. (It usually downsizes).
Best Wishes.
It must be a shopping thing because this happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it’s all the walking? I was waiting in line & felt my legs turn to jelly. Realized I couldn’t think straight, left everything behind & wobbled out to my car. Amazing that I could remember where I parked it. Wanted to cry because I had wasted all that time gathering the stuff to buy & left it behind. Stuffed jelly beans into my mouth & waited & waited in the car.
A few days ago when I was low, really low, I tried to make a phone call using the TV remote! Glad no one saw me to do this. Sat there thinking my brain is gone & cried.
I find this happening to me at work all the time!!!
I work with kids on a swim team so my job can be pretty active…Some times I just get to a point where I just space and totally forget what I want to say even when I am In the middle of saying it…and my kids do know I’m a diabeteic so when it comeso to 10 yr olds that can be pretty harsh…they catch every word and incorrect saying or if I just brain fart all together…I also find it difficult when i am high…being sorrounded by kids all yelling for attention and my sugars just feel like they are through the roof, My mood swing tends to take over and I get sooo frustrated. Not that it’s there fault but just at myself for messing up yet once again!!! It sucks that this disease affects everything, Physically and mentally!!! and That’s why I hate this disease!!! But I still say That I control it…It will never control me!!!
Stay strong…one day at a time!!
Peace and love…
-jesus
Thanks again to all and for the great understanding comments.
Had a great day babysitting my nieces, Avery and Calin, two very sweet girls. We played ballerina, blocks, tent making and playdoh ornament making, tooooo fun. Pump fell out of my pocket while dancing and sweet little Avery said Auntie Karen your medicine fell out.
So I too Jesus, try not to let this disease control me, but man sometimes the physical and mental wear and tear gets to me.
That sounds like far too many of my shopping experiences too. I often end up sitting in dressing rooms, half-dressed because I was trying on clothes and started pouring sweat, waiting for the sweat to dry, and chomping on hard candies. Shopping is just one of those things that makes it next to impossible to keep my BG’s in range.
I was in same boat yesterday…I dont know if it’s a combo of the rushing around/not eating/stress or what but I spent 1 hour being low and then shut my pump off for 2 hours so I could shop. Jeez! Those little things can be so annoying. A few years ago I almost passed out at Kohls doing my 2 day before christmas christmas shopping!! I ate everything in sight and I was still incoherent. The ambulance showed up and I was so scared ( I had never been incoherent from a low until that time) I thought I was dying. Frustrating. I hope my family appreciated all I went through to get their gifts!!!
I hate it when I am needing to do something or go somewhere and I have to wait until the blood sugar comes back up.